Tech Entrepreneur Minh Nguyen Charged with Murder

For years, serial entrepreneur Minh D. Nguyen, who co-founded the social-contact startup Plaxo with Napster billionaire Sean Parker, has been regarded as a respected member of the tech community on both coasts and a tireless mentor to countless young startups.

But Nguyen’s life unraveled on the evening of Jan. 15 when police in Ashburn Virginia., say he broke into his ex-wife’s townhome and gunned down her new husband, former North Carolina State University baseball player Corey Mattison.

Nguyen was taken into custody at the scene.

Even more disturbing, say police, is that the shooting took place in front of several children and the victim’s wife.

“Inside the home were two children,” said Loudoun County Sheriff spokeswoman Liz Mills. “The suspect’s ex-wife and another child returned home as the incident was unfolding.”

Moments after the shooting and the arrival of police, according to NBC Washington 4, a neighbor said Nguyen’s mother pulled up to the residence and began shouting at her son: “You should have stayed away. I told you to stay away. Why would you do this?”

In recent months Nguyen and his ex-wife had reportedly been fighting over visitation and custody issues.

Nguyen is best known for co-founding Plaxo, an online address book and social-networking service, acquired by Comcast in 2008 for a reported $150 to $170 million. He is currently being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center and has been charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.